A Chinese man who tried to set up an independent environmental group went on trial Monday on charges of stealing state secrets, an overseas human rights group and court official said. Computer technician Tan Kai has been in custody since police in the eastern city of Hangzhou summoned him on Oct. 19, New York-based Human Rights in China reported. Tan was detained after he opened a bank account as part of efforts to register an environmental group, "Green Watch." His trial at Hangzhou's Xihu District People's Court was closed to the public because it involved state secrets, said a court official reached by telephone. The official refused to give his name because he was not authorized to speak to media. Police officials said they had no information about the case. ... http://abcnews.go.com

A top U.S. admiral said Monday he has issued a rare invitation to Chinese commanders to observe a U.S. military exercise next month on Guam in an effort to strengthen ties. Adm. William Fallon, wrapping up a weeklong visit to China, said he hoped such visits would become part of regular exchanges between the two militaries, which have had little interaction since they broke off following the 2001 collision of a U.S. Navy plane and a Chinese fighter jet. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1961508

A teenage couple on their way to a high school prom died in a head-on collision that also killed the teen driver of the oncoming vehicle, officials said Sunday. Students attending Fosston High School prom in northwest Minnesota were sent home early when officials learned a 16-year-old junior at the school and his 16-year-old date had died Saturday in the Chevy Corvette they were driving to the dance. A 15-year-old boy from Mahnomen in a Jeep Cherokee also died, according to the Polk County sheriff's office. The three victims, who officials didn't identify, weren't wearing seat belts. The students were told of the fatalities shortly after the Grand March. The prom was then canceled and students were told to call their parents for rides, said Bernadette Sorenson, dean of students. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1961644

A deputy U.S. marshal was killed in a shootout with police officers who had stopped the agent for driving erratically early Sunday, authorities said.Mary Fisher, 46, refused to stop when officers tried to pull her over and led the officers to her home around 6 a.m., according to Sgt. Vince Higgins, a police spokesman.When the officers told her to get out of the car, she opened her door, pulled out a gun and started shooting at them, Higgins said.Officer Patrick Taylor, 34, was shot in the leg. He was taken to a hospital, where he remains in stable condition.The other officer, whose name has not been released, was unharmed.Both officers have been relieved of duty while the investigation continues.Fisher was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they could not say how many times she was shot....http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/15/marshal.shot.ap/index.html?section=cnn_us

Indonesia's Mount Merapi, the nation's most active volcano, is spewing lava and superheated gas, two days after authorities raised their threat assessment of an eruption to the highest level. ``Activities have intensified from midnight when heat clouds reached at least 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) to the western part of the slope,'' said Triani, an officer on duty at the Volcano Development and Research Center in Yogyakarta city. ``It hasn't erupted vertically.'' The government is evacuating more than 3,000 people in eight villages living near the volcano, said Edy Susanto, head of the public welfare office in Magelang city, west of Merapi. Pyroclastic flows, or superheated flow of rock, ash and gases, could spread to a radius of between 8 kilometers and 12 kilometers in coming days, Subandrio, head of the Mount Merapi observatory at the center said on May 13. ...http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aasLDGMxhCQc&refer=home

The immigration reform bill that the Senate takes up today would more than double the flow of legal immigration into the United States each year and dramatically lower the skill level of those immigrants. The number of extended family members that U.S. citizens or legal residents can bring into this country would double. More dramatically, the number of workers and their immediate families could increase sevenfold if there are enough U.S. employers looking for cheap foreign labor. Another provision would grant humanitarian visas to any woman or orphaned child anywhere in the world "at risk of harm" because of age or sex. The little-noticed provisions are part of legislation co-sponsored by Republican Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Mel Martinez of Florida, which overcame some early stumbles and now has bipartisan support in the Senate. The bill also has been praised by President Bush, and he is expected to endorse it as a starting point for negotiations in ...http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060515-122825-2467r.htm